The benefits of selective soldering with nitrogen

Selective soldering with nitrogen is an essential process in the production of printed circuit boards (PCBs). It is used for bonding components to PCBs that could otherwise be damaged if exposed to a lot of heat. Another area of application are mixed-technology circuit boards with layout constraints. 

How does selective soldering work?

Selective soldering is an automated process. It gives you the precision of hand soldering with none of its delays and inconsistencies.

The benefits of selective soldering

Different soldering methods are available for PCB production. The most common are wave, selective soldering and reflow soldering. In the choice between these options, selective soldering offers distinct benefits:

The role of nitrogen in selective soldering

Because of its inert properties, nitrogen is applied in soldering to ensure the process is free from oxygen. That is because oxygen would react with the solder. This would create an oxide layer that can lead to quality problems or short circuits in the selective soldering units. 

How to make on-site nitrogen generation pay off for you

Many companies rely on nitrogen deliveries. However, this option comes with a high cost of gas. You not only have to pay a lot for the nitrogen itself but also for rental fees for the nitrogen cylinders. In addition, purchasing nitrogen from a vendor requires you to free storage space, which can lead to supply bottlenecks and logistics headaches.

A much better alternative is on-site nitrogen generation with a compressor and a nitrogen generator.

This eliminates these challenges while also offering a series of additional benefits. First and foremost is the reduction in costs. A cubic meter of nitrogen generated on-site is significantly cheaper than a cubic meter of purchased nitrogen.

Equally important is supply control. Nitrogen is critical to your soldering activities. Can you really afford to be dependent on third party suppliers?

In addition, a nitrogen generator allows you to select the required gas purity. This is critical in ensuring appropriate solder spreading behavior at low temperatures. Setting the right purity also allows you to reduce your energy and thus operating costs.

Finally, you can eliminate the transport emissions associated with gas deliveries and lower your carbon footprint. 

Increasing the effectiveness of selective soldering with nitrogen

Different factors determine the effectiveness of the selective soldering process. These include the configuration of the machine, the attributes of the flux, and the nozzle choice. And, of course, the nitrogen you use is important. You have to make sure it is of the right purity to prevent dross formation. High-purity nitrogen can also extend the lifetime of the nozzles, which saves costs.

A nitrogen generator from Pneumatech is the optimal solution for providing you with a steady supply of high-quality nitrogen. This not only lowers your operating costs but also can help you to take your selective soldering operation to the next level. To learn more, contact one of our experts now. 

Sourced from: https://www.pneumatech.com/en-international/blog/


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Who we are and how Ash Air can help your business!

Ash Air has been around in New Zealand since 1979, and we’ve grown into a nationwide company with international support and a reputation for quality and reliability.We look after all things compressed air for your business!

  • Rotary Screw and Piston Air Compressors
  • Vacuum Pumps and Blowers
  • Nitrogen Generation
  • An extensive line of Air Treatment components
  • AIRnet Piping System and  Filtration
  • Mobile Compressors, Generators, and Light Towers

Ash Air's range of Chicago Pneumatic, ALUP, Pneumatech, and Atlas Copco products are used extensively around the world in industries ranging from oil and gas to food, automotive and farming, and we bring you these world-class compressors here in the land of the long white cloud.Our technicians are compressed air equipment experts and are dedicated to addressing customer needs. Supported with nationwide coverage, Ash Air offers one of the widest selections of compressed air, vacuum pump, and industrial gas equipment and parts available today in New Zealand.

Reliability and Efficiency

With Ash Air, you can count on reliability and high performance for even the most demanding applications. We focus our efforts on the following:

  • Increasing uptime
  • Reducing unexpected repairs
  • Reducing energy consumption and meeting our sustainability goals
  • Improving the cleanliness of compressed air


Talk to the team today:  CONTACT US CONTACT US

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Whenever most people think about a compressor, they probably have a piston compressor in mind. You might already know there are two basic principles of air compression. One of those is the principle of displacement compression. There are a lot of compressor types that classify as a displacement compressor. The piston compressor is one of them, oil-lubricated or oil-free.  …


Once you have the size and type of compressor figured out, one last question remains, should I go with an oil lubricated or oil-free air compressor. To not overcomplicate the answer, your choice should be based on the application and process that the compressed air will be utilized in. …


Like all compressor types, rotary screw models do require periodic maintenance. Thanks to the simplicity of the internal components, maintenance is relatively easy on most rotary air compressors. As long as you stick to a rotary screw compressor maintenance schedule, you will likely be rewarded with many, many years of optimal productivity from your machine.  …


Did you know, the biggest part of the air we breathe is nitrogen? Everyone needs oxygen to survive, however air is made up of 78% nitrogen, only 21% oxygen and tiny amounts of other gases. Although, the human body does not use this nitrogen, it is very helpful in various industrial applications. There is an unlimited source of nitrogen readily available, allowing you to achieve needed purity at a fraction of your current annual nitrogen cost.  …


If you notice that your compressor is getting hot and bothered, there may be heating issues affecting your air compressors performance. Did you know that an overheating compressor is top of the pops for being the most common cause of compressor failure.  …


A rotary-screw compressor is an air compressor that uses a rotary-type positive-displacement mechanism, typically used replace piston compressors where large volumes of high-pressure air are needed, either for large industrial applications or to operate high-power air tools.  …


Have a look around and what do you see? What are you thinking about? Your next holiday to Queenstown maybe? You might go snowboarding with the kids or have some alone time at the Day Spa. Whatever holiday you choose, compressed air is involved in some way, without you even realising it!   …


There are crucial reasons why you should service and maintain your compressor regularly, with the most common issues being piston failure caused by wear of components, increased friction, corrosion, reduced cooling, overheating bearings and components, clogging of air filters.  …


Compressed air is all around us, from the air in a balloon to pumping up tires on your bicycle. In this article we will explain what compressed air is and how it is created. Whether you know it or not, compressed air is involved in every aspect of our lives, from the balloons at your birthday party to the air in the tires of our cars and bicycles. It was probably even used when making the phone, tablet or computer you’re viewing this on.  …


One of the biggest challenges is to correctly size your new air compressor. Similarly to everything else, new compressors available on the market are more efficient and employ better technology, therefore you have to understand the application and usage to size the machine correctly. Choosing the wrong air compressor for your facility can lead to problems with production and or increased costs due to wasted energy.  …


Once you have the size of the air compressor figured out, the next thing to do is to decide on the type of compresor you will need for your application - piston, rotary screw compressor etc. Let us take a look at two of the most popular options available. When choosing the right type of compressor, you should ask yourself the following questions: …


​Which vacuum pump do I need? - this is one of the most frequent questions we receive and this is understandable, because there are number of technologies which can provide the same vacuum level and pumping speed. Here is quick advice on how to choose the best vacuum pump for your needs.  …


You may be asking, why does my air compressor start, then stop? Allow us to take the guessing out of it. We understand your pain. We know that a compressor problem can quickly result in hours (if not days) of production downtime and loss of revenue. When your compressor continuously shuts off from on, we refer that as a short cycle. There are a few reasons that a short cycle may be happening with your compressor.  …


Air compressor leaks are very common in all applications, but can be very costly and difficult to find. On average, 20-30% of the compressed air used in a manufacturing plant is wasted as leaked air. Finding and fixing these leaks can save your business thousands of wasted dollars a year.  …


When installing a compressed air system into a business, people often look to PVC piping as an option to build a piping system because it is cheap, versatile and easy to install. However, using PVC pipe in any compressed air application is extremely dangerous and NOT recommended by multiple associations and manufacturers.  …


Changing the oil and oil filters on your compressor is one of the most common routine maintenance tasks to perform to keep your compressor running efficiently. After you remove your old oil and oil filter, you may find yourself wondering, “Where do I dispose of these?”, or “Can I just throw them in the trash?”. Because oil is toxic and a pollutant, disposing of your old oil and filters is not as simple as just tossing them in the trash.  …